John B. Watson

1. John B. Watson Came up with tabula rasa: we are all born the same and through conditioning we are who we are Little albert experiment Felt that psych should only focus on behavior

2. John Watson: Aversive conditioning Aversive conditioning (conditioning for negative response) Little albert experiment (11 months) Associates mouth with painful experience UCS-loud noise UCR-fear CS-rat CR-fear of rat

3. Second order conditioning Second order or higher order conditioning Once a CS elicits a CR, the CS can be used (as US) to condition a response to a new stimulus Ex: dogs salivate to bell (first order conditioning) Light is paired with bell (second order) Light-salivation

4. Biology and classical conditioning Animals/ humans are biologically wired to make certain association more easily than other Ex: Conditioned (learned) taste aversions (adaptive response) -Fudge: shaped in squares and dog feces -Bottle: labeled sucrose and cyanide -Classical conditioning, but biologically predisposed

5. Operant conditioning Learning based on consequences -association made between consequences and ones behavior Thorndike’s law of effect -positive consequences result in strong stimuli response connection Negative consequences results in weakened stimulus response connection-decreased behavior Instrumental learning: consequence shapes behaviors

6. Classical vs operant conditioning Classical-stimuli Operant-consequences

7. B.F. Skinner Felt that external influences not internal thought feeling influence behavior Something that you can test not unconscious What can lead to certain behavior Operant conditioning Most influential individual in the field

8. The skinner box Testing rewards and punishment Experiment on rats

9. Skinner’s reinforcement Reinforcement: a consequence that encourages a certain behavior Positive (+) reinforcement: add something pleasant (treat for a dog) Negative reinforcement (-) : remove something unpleasant (take Advil to remove headache) Negative punishment (omission training): removes something pleasant (being grounded) Positive punishment: adds something negative (hitting dog with newspaper)

10. Learning by Operant Conditioning Shaping: -reinforcing the steps used to reach a desired behavior (single behaviors-press bar for food) Chaining: -reinforcing a number of separate behaviors for a more complex activity (obstacle course, salsa lessons)

11. Types of Reinforces Primary reinforces -natural reinforces (food, water) Secondary reinforces -things we’ve learned to value: (money)

12. MONEY AS A REINFORCES money= generalize reinforce -can be used for anything Token economy -tokens as a positive reinforcement -cash in for other reinforces -schools, mental institutions, prisons

13. Biology and operant conditioning Reinforces: effects can vary -effect of reinforce can vary depending on animal, its instincts, and situation instinctive drift: -ignore rewards to follow natural (instinctive) behavior Premark Principle -if two activities-the one preferred can be used to reinforce the one not preferred

14. Reinforcement shedules Reinforcement schedules=pattern of reinforcing behavior Administered in 2 ways: Ratio-number of responses Interval-time

15. Reinforcement schedules FR (fixed ratio): reinforcement after set number of responses VR (variable ratio): reinforcement after varied number of responses -lottery FI( fixed interval): fixed amount of time set before reward behavior-every 2 weeks get a paycheck VI(variable interval): varied amount of time before reward (avg time set)-pop quiz

16. Learning and extinction FR and FI=faster acquisition (learning), but faster extinction VR and VI: slower learning but slower extinction Which of these four yields the highest rate of response? Why slower extinction with VR and VI? -noticing a break in pattern is more difficult - “always that chance”

17. Learning with punishment Escape learning -to terminate an aversive stimulus: ex-to disrupt English class as to “get out” Avoidance learning -to avoid stimulus all together: ex-cut English class There is a student that disruptive in class and gets kicked out, he doesn’t want to be in class anyways so getting kicked is what motivates him to keep doing it

18. Pitfalls of punishment According to behaviorists, what are potential pitfalls of punishment -tells only what NOT to do, not what to do -creates anxiety which interferes with learning -only suppresses behavior, doesn’t eliminate (discrimination) -Physical punishment-aggressive behavior (correlation, not causation)

19. Classical vs operant Similar -both forms of associate learning -both involve: acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination -both influenced by biology and cognition Differences -classical: response is automatic, reward independent of action, learning is part of the autonomic response (UCR) -operant: response is voluntary, reward contingent on action, learning is part of voluntary behavior

20. PAVLOV -classical conditioning-how all organism learn to adapt to their environment -practical applications for fears, phobias etc. Skinner -definitive insight into learned behavior -practical applications abound Both asserted that learning occurs w/o though (cognition) Only focused on observable behavior

21. Cognitive learning How could cognitive argue that cognition is influential in both classical and operant conditioning -classical: CS triggers anticipation of UCS -operant: awareness that responses=consequences and thus acts to max the reinforcement

22. Cognitive learning Observational learning -aka modeling -observation=imitation -mirror neurons (frontal lobe/neural basis for observational learning) -Albert Banduras: Bobo doll experiment social learning theory (species specific) antisocial BEHAVIOR (Bobo doll experiment: two dolls in diff rooms, one acted upon aggression other nice, see response in students ) Implications for TV and youth?

23. Cognitive learning • Latent learning (“hidden”) • Learning that is not directly observable • Tolman’s Rat maze study -group 1: rewarded every time reached goal -group 2: no reward when reached goal -group 3: no reward 1st 10 days, reward on 11th • finding: Latent learning (3rd group learned cognitive map in 1st trial, bur didn’t show it until reward) • thus learning takes place without reinforcement

24. Cognitive Learning Insight learning (aha!) Sudden grasp of problem Wolfgang Kohler: Chimpanzees Sudden insight, not gradual strengthening od S-R association

25. Cognition

26. Memory process 3 steps Encoding: processing of info into memory system (typing on a computer) Storage: retention of encoded material over time (to hit save) Retrieval: getting the info out of storage (opening a file)

27. The stage processing model Sensory memory: held for a few sec according to the sensory impact on our organs (glow sticks) Short-term memory (working memory) Long-term memory

28. Sensory memory Immediate recording of sensory info “Split sec holding tank” Most stimulus no encoded -selective attention: only pay attention to certain things Sensory memory registered as: -iconic (split sec vanishing picture) -echoic (4 sec sounds)

29. Short term memory (working memory) Memory that holds a few items briefly Limit: seven digits/ items (plus or minus 2) Info is stored into long-term, or forgotten Lasts 3-12 sec Shirt term, or working memory has 3 parts: -acoustics codes: encoding sound -visual codes: how you see the letters -semantic codes: meaning

30. Long term memory Permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

31. Flashbulb memory An extreme emotional moment or event Somehow branded into long-term memory Where were you when? -you heard about 9/11 -your first kiss -first car accident

32. Encoding 2 ways: -automatic processing -effortful processing

33. Encoding Automatic: -unconscious encoding -location, time and frequency -retracing steps to find your keys -also becomes automatic with practice

34. Encoding Effortful processing -attention/ conscious effort -studying for a test -through practice effortful can become automatic

35. Factors that influence Spacing effect -encode info better if in increments over time Serial positioning effect -tendency to recall best the first and last items in a list -primary effect: remember 1st words, items -regency effect: remember last items, words Next-in-line effect -don’t remember what someone has said if we are next.. Self-reference effect -we encode better when issue relates to us

36. Encoding strategiesCan enhance memory … Mnemonic devices Any learning technique that aids memory -uses imagery, semantics to remember… Acronyms: Parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction “Please excuse my dear aunt Sally”

37. Storage and short- term memory Last usually between 3 to 12 seconds Limit: 7 (plus or minus 2) chunks of info We recall digits better than letters .

38. Remember: there is no one single compartment for memory in our brain Long term-potentiation -leading theory for LTM (long term memories) -neural networks strengthen memory -neural connections gradually strengthen through rehearsal over time (memory strengthened) -nerve cell’s genes produce synapse strengthening proteins/ enabling LTM formation

39. Hippocampus Critical memory (injury=impairment) -left=vertical memory -right= visual/location Processes LTM, then stores elsewhere in cerebral cortex Ex: if library=our brain, librarian=hippocampus

40. Amygdala Emotional memories -images, smells, sounds Hippocampus and amygdala work together to form LTM -hippo=conscious memory of event -amygdala=emotional memory form the senses

41. Retrieval recall vs recognition Recognition; multiple choice Recall; long response

42. Retrieval cues Memory = web of associations Priming “strand or web of associations that leads to a specific memory”

43. Factors that influence retrieval Context effect -retrieval is more effective when retrieving in some location as experienced Tip of the tongue effect(TOT) -temporary inability to retrieve specific names of info -usually remedied by semantic cues

44. Conditions that affect memory Mood-congruent theory -the tendency to recall memories consistent with our current mood State - dependent theory -recalling events encoded while in a particular state of consciousness -ex: if you hide money while you are drunk, you are most likely to remember where you hid it when you are intoxicated

45. 3 ways we forget Encoding failure Storage decay Retrieval failure

46. Encoding Don’t encode what we don’t need Not encoding/ no LTM

47. Storage decay Memory storage decays over time Lack of rehearsal accelerates decay Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve -step decline of retention over 1st 3 days, then levels off…

48. Retrieval failure 2 TYPES: Proactive interference -new info is messed up by the old info -pro=new Retroactive interference -old info is messed up by new learning -retro=old

49. Retrieval failure REPRESSION: Psychoanalytic theory-Freud’s theory of repression -we push away uncomfortable memories -contradicts theory that emotions/stress hormones strengthen memories

50. Research studies Memories bend and change over time, and are often inaccurate!! Youngest and oldest (5-75) are most susceptible -frontal lobe: matures slowly and decays quickly Research studies Elizabeth Loftus (over 200 experiments) -how wording influences our memory Cornell University-Space Shuttle Disaster -recollections on day after and 3 years later -2/3 were totally wrong as to whom with, where etc.